Fox Theater

Undisputed masters of murderous riffs, pugnacious grooves and ferocious hooks since 1991, Machine Head are long established as one of the most influential and incendiary bands in metal.

From genre-expanding triumphs like 1994’s debut, Burn My Eyes, 1999’s The Burning Red to the planet-conquering might of 2007’s The Blackening, to the new life injected in 2014’s Bloodstone and Diamonds, Machine Head have carved a singular path across the globe for over three decades now with no end in sight. Whether it be marathon 3-hour live performances, or millions of albums sold worldwide, and accolades both big and small, there aren’t too many ‘distractions’ clouding up the vision of guitarist/vocalist/founder Robb Flynn these days.

In 2022, Machine Head are back with their most crushing and complete album yet. ØF KINGDØM AND CRØWN is an hour-long conceptual monolith, rich in colour and dynamics but hell-bent on destruction. Set in a futuristic wasteland where the sky is always crimson red, ØF KINGDØM AND CRØWN tells the tale of two characters, both faced with incalculable trauma, whose stories become bloodily entwined as this deep, dark record progresses.

“The album and concept was loosely inspired by the Japanese anime series Attack On Titan,” says Robb, “in the sense that in that series, there is no “good” or “bad” guy… both sides believe they’re doing the right thing, but both are committing atrocities and evil.”

Album opener, “SLAUGHTER THE MARTYR,” sets the tone for not only the record, but the aural and psychological exploration the listener is about to embark on. From the first dissonant note, its certain this is not only fresh canvas spelled out with lead vocalist Robb Flynn and bassist Jared MacEachern’s soaring vocal harmonies, but its intent is as furious as anything the band has ever come up with. This track also begins the journey of our protagonists.

Further exploration of the damaged psyche blasts forth on “CHØKE ØN THE ASHES ØF YØUR HATE,” a searing back and forth dose of Thrash Metal that could only come from the roots of the Bay Area. Unrelenting in its attack, the breakneck pace only solidifies this as one of many standouts on ØF KINGDØM AND CRØWN.

From the adrenaline rush of exorcising their inner demons to the innate feeling of solitude and regret comes “UNHALLØWED.” A dramatic introspective of questioning one’s motives and the fallout when the debts our expended emotions come to collect. Hopeless, lost, and isolated, protagonist #2 begins the transformation from victim to victimizer over the melodic chaos courtesy of guitarist Vogg Kiełtyka. Radicalized, paranoid, and armed with a dead-end stare, the mental onslaught ignites with the song, “KILL THY ENEMIES.” The whiplash inducing thoughts pair up nicely with some of the thickest grooves on the album.

The album ends with arguably the finest song Machine Head have ever written: “ARRØWS IN WØRDS FRØM THE SKY”, the grandiose but emotionally visceral climax to the finest and most ferocious album of the band’s 30 year career.

A perennially vital force in heavy music, Machine Head have continued their exhilarating evolution, while never losing the furious spirit of their old school, underground roots.

In Flames represent the best of metal’s past, present, and future. In Flames are as vital and even more energized today than when they unleashed classics like Come Clarity and Clayman in decades past.

The band built a stunning reputation with devastating, crowd-moving, inspired performances around the world at every major rock and metal festival imaginable, headlining multiple treks, and touring with the likes of Slipknot, Megadeth, Judas Priest, Killswitch Engage, Within Temptation, and Lamb Of God. They regularly headline some of the biggest stages and festivals in the world.

Foregone, the furious fourteenth studio album, combines the greatest aggressive, metallic, and melodic strengths of their landmark records with the seasoned songwriting of their postmodern era.

The melodic guitars, crushing riffs, and high-speed tempos that define much of the In Flames catalog first crystalized on their second album, The Jester Race (1996), complete with hints of the catchy choruses to come. Whoracle (1997) is the rawest and arguably heaviest In Flames album from the 90s. Metal Hammer declared melodeath masterpiece Colony (1999) “an undisputed fireball of an album.”

Clayman (2000) introduced synths and more prominent clean vocals, without sacrificing the band’s intensity. Reroute to Remain (2002) took the groove element further. Soundtrack to Your Escape (2004) expanded the rock bombast. Come Clarity (2006) is a perfect metalcore slab. A Sense of Purpose (2008) delivered some of the band’s best and most eclectic songs. The gothic groove metal of Sounds of a Playground Fading (2011) paved the way for the unapologetic Active Rock hooks of Siren Charms (2014) and Battles (2016). Fans of the aggressive side of In Flames praised I, the Mask (2019). Foregone masterfully, if improbably, manages to serve all sides of the In Flames fanbase, with powerful force.

A sense of pride, accomplishment, and continued vitality are evident every time the band takes the stage, and all over Foregone. Melodic death metal pioneers and innovative purveyors of groove, the artistry, influence, stature, and future of In Flames loom as large as the heavy metal horizon itself.

If you know Lacuna Coil then you’ll already be aware that every album entry in their storied career is more than just a sound. Each one is a richly textured soundtrack to a specific time and a place. With Sleepless Empire, that place is dark, cinematic, and unmistakably true to the unique characteristics that have given Lacuna Coil such a celebrated entry in the annals of heavy music.

As founding songwriter-in-chief Marco Coti Zelati, aka Maki explains, while the writing process for Lacuna Coil’s tenth studio record began in December, the record’s real creative birth coincided with the release of 2022’s Comalies XX, a 20th-anniversary reimagining of their landmark 2002 record, Comalies. It was more than an epic and rapturously received reinvention of that 21st century classic. It would serve to align the past, the present, and the future of Lacuna Coil as they take their first steps into the fourth decade of their remarkable career.

“I never get stuck in the past,” says Maki. “Sure, I still love Type O Negative and Paradise Lost, but I also love soundtracks: big orchestral stuff like Hans Zimmer, Danny Elfman or even John Williams. If people had a chance to listen to Sleepless Empire without the voice, guitars or drums – the orchestral part – it’d be a soundtrack because it’s very cinematic and that’s how I spend most of my time. I grew up watching movies all day long, even with my father – there was this massive culture of movies and soundtracks, even iconic horror ones like Friday the 13th or Halloween and obviously growing up in Italy, Goblin and their incredible soundtracks for Profondo Rosso and Suspiria.”

And from the colossal refrains of album opener The Siege to the wickedly catchy I Wish You Were Dead and the irrepressibly classic feel of Sleepless Empire’s title track, there’s no mistaking the confidence of Lacuna Coil’s latest, and it has its share of surprises, too. They come in the form of two very special guest appearances from none other than New Years Day banshee Ash Costello on their epic In The Mean Time and an ear-splittingly over-the-top contribution from Lamb of God singer Randy Blythe on Hosting the Shadow. According to founding vocalist Andrea Ferro, Randy’s inclusion was a family affair.

“We met Randy when we did Ozzfest together back in 2004,” he says. “We were on the same stage and we started a friendship and always stayed in touch – we toured together in so many different situations and at so many festivals, so we know each other – he’s really like a part of the family to us. Finally doing a collab with him was both a natural thing but also a huge honor for us, as we’re friends but also fans.”

As for the addition of Ash Costello to the proceedings, it came from a place of mutual admiration and wanting to bring her celebrated vocal style into the fray.

“We were searching for that perfect ‘rock’ voice,” Ferro explains. “Not too clean or symphonic but rather something with fire in it, and she has it – exactly what we needed for that part. We really loved what she did to the song, it’s absolutely perfect.”

And if there’s a special edge to Sleepless Empire it’s about more than that vocal cross pollination alone. As Ferro explains, the key to Lacuna Coil’s eternally youthful aura is their curiosity and ability to respond creatively to new inspiration without losing sight of the qualities that make them who they are – and he counts Sleep Token, Spiritbox, Bad Omens, and Bring Me The Horizon as examples of other bands who are doing the same to keep the scene and their own sounds vibrant. That independent spirit has been key to balancing Lacuna Coil’s artistic prerogative against the weight of expectation, and Ferro is emphatic when describing how these strange times have generated no shortage of material to influence Sleepless Empire’s weighty lyrics and mood.

“Our sound is dark because it reflects the society we’re living in – it’s a portrait of our times,” he says. “We’re from a unique generation that remembers the analog world but lives in the digital one, we’re the first generation that’s lived through both so we’ve been witnesses the change to our society and that’s the Sleepless Empire. Everyone is always on their phone, always scrolling, always doing something – morning to night, it just never stops.”

And it’s perhaps the simultaneous promise and peril of our increasingly tech-governed world that’s been on Cristina Scabbia’s mind for some time, an unease she’s channeled into Lacuna Coil’s latest. It’s a feeling she’s unafraid of expressing outside of the studio, too.

“Before Comalies XX we literally stopped creating,” she says. “With the pandemic going on, everything was so negative around us that we didn’t want to connect to anything and in some way, it was like a comeback for us because it renewed our love of songwriting, but we needed to find a spark that’d create the concept for our record. We love singles, but we like an idea of a whole record that tells a story – the kind that captures a moment in time.”

It’s a philosophy that’s reflected in every aspect of Sleepless Empire. The album’s box set includes an Oracle divination game which the band have playfully hidden in the booklet for fans to find. It also influenced their decision to work with Neapolitan illustrator Roberto Toderico, whose stunning cover art is something that Cristina explains reflects a deeper sentiment than a purely aesthetic choice. It’s an expression of the band’s desire to remain defiantly authentic in an increasingly challenged creative landscape.

“I met Roberto at a comic convention. I love his work because it’s completely handmade,” she says. “People pretend that AI is creating something new and I disagree with that. I’m not against tech, what I’m against is people confusing tech with 100% creativity like music or painting or drawing that comes from what you have inside. I understand people’s pain from all this because I feel that too.”

It’s perhaps that perspective that gives Sleepless Empire such a timely but timeless feel. It’s a portrait of these times, and a powerful statement of intent from a band at ease with their past and defiantly forging ever-forward.

Since 1998, Massachusetts metalcore outfit Unearth have been American standard- bearers for a sound that combines European-style death metal, hardcore punk, melodic thrash, and machine-gun breakdowns. Though its lineup has evolved, founding members and guitarists Ken Susi and Buz McGrath, and vocalist Trevor Phipps, have been constants.

The band has placed five albums in the Top 200 and scored big on both the Rock Albums and Hard Rock Albums charts. Their approach to musical evolution is, to say the least, gradual. Their sound has been stubbornly consistent, from the maniacal urgency of 2001’s iconic Stings of Conscience through to 2011’s Darkness in the Light. Unearth are considered pioneers who have never caved in to changing trends.